4 Men Executed for Drug Charges in Karaj

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a man was executed in Karaj Penitentiary (Central Prison) on 26 November. His identity has been established as 32-year-old Ehsan Basati Valiabad (photo) who was arrested four years ago and sentenced to death for drug-related offences.

HRANA newsagency also reported the execution of three men at the prison on 25 November. Their identities have been reported as Ashkan Moradi, Jalal Haj Babay and Davoud Heidari who were on death row for drug-related charges.

At the time of writing, their executions have not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

According to IHRNGO’s 2023 Annual Report on the Death Penalty, at least 471 people were executed for drug-related charges, an 84% increase compared to 2022 (256) and about 18 times the average of drug-related executions in 2018-2020. In the first six months of 2024, at least 147 people were executed for the charges.

On 10 April 2024, 80+ Iranian and international organisations and groups called for joint action to stop drug-related executions, urging UNODC to make “any cooperation with the Islamic Republic contingent on a complete halt on drug-related executions.”